All posts by alaskaknitnat

Welcome to Alaska Knit Nat! I was born and raised in Anchorage and have always had a passion for making useful things, whether they are eaten, knit, crocheted, sewn or randomly glued and assembled. I received my bachelor’s degree in French and journalism from the University of Alaska Anchorage and work almost full time at a nonprofit and way over time as a mom.
breakfast, Holiday

Leftover Stuffing Waffles

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There are a million ways to remix Thanksgiving leftovers. Here’s one of my favorites.

Leftover Stuffing Waffles

Makes 1 Belgian waffle

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup leftover sweet potato casserole (or mashed potatoes with 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup)
  • 3/4 cup leftover stuffing
  • 1 egg

Directions:

Heat your waffle iron. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl until well incorporated, almost like a chunky batter.

When the waffle iron is heated, spray it liberally with cooking spray. Place your mixture in the waffle iron and cook for 5-6 minutes (this will vary depending on your waffle iron), or until waffle is browned. Serve with cranberry sauce, if desired.

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Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

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There was a chill in the air today and it’s definitely wintertime now. I had a sack of potatoes in the pantry, three slices of bacon and some broccoli, so I figured I could make a comforting soup to ward off the wintertime blues. It was simple and delicious – almost like a baked potato soup. And now I have leftovers for tomorrow!

Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

Prep/cook time: 45 minutes
Serves 8-ish

Ingredients:

  • 3 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped small
  • 2 carrots, chopped small
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
  • 1, 15-ounce can white beans, partially drained
  • 12 ounces broccoli, cut into small bits
  • 1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Chopped scallions and sour cream, to serve

Directions:

In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat, until cooked through but not crispy. Add the butter, onions and carrots and cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and mix into the ingredients in the pot. Let the flour cook for about a minute. Add the milk, 3 cups of chicken stock, the bay leaf and the potatoes. Bring to a simmer.

Turn the heat to low, partially cover and let simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender, stirring occasionally so the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn. Meanwhile, combine the partially drained canned beans with 1/2 cup of chicken stock in a liquid measuring cup and purée with an immersion blender until creamy.

When the potatoes are just starting to get tender, add the beans and the broccoli to the pot. Cover again and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for another 7 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender, stirring occasionally. (If using cooked leftover broccoli, don’t add it with the puréed beans. Let the beans cook for 5 minutes, then add the leftover broccoli and cook until it’s heated through and continue with the recipe.)

Turn off the heat. Stir in the grated cheese until it’s all melted into the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. I am not liberal with the salt because the bacon and cheese have already added salt to the soup, which is why I add salt at the end to make sure it isn’t over-salted.

Ladle into bowls and top with dollops of sour cream and chopped scallions (and maybe some more cheese if you like).

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Potatoes au Gratin with Bacon + Mushrooms

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I always forget about potatoes. They sit in my pantry, slowly shriveling and growing roots, but then I remember that potatoes are delicious!

Here’s a potato casserole dish that’s perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s a flexible recipe. If you don’t care for mushrooms, add sautéed Swiss chard or cooked broccoli instead.

Potatoes au Gratin with Bacon and Mushrooms

Serves 8
Prep/Cook time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds thin-skinned potatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons 00 flour (or AP flour)
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 5 slices bacon, chopped
  • 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced (or vegetable of your choice)
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • chopped chives, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 9×13″ casserole dish and set aside. Clean your potatoes (no need to peel them if you don’t feel like it), and slice them paper thin using a mandoline or a food processor slicer. Set these aside while you make the béchamel.

Measure your milk and microwave it for 90 seconds. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk till incorporated. Cook this roux for 30 seconds or so to get rid of the raw flour taste, whisking all the while. Turn the heat down to low and start slowly adding the hot milk, whisking the entire time, until you have a thick sauce. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Back to the potatoes: layer half of the sliced potatoes in the casserole dish. The potatoes don’t have to be perfectly fanned out like a fancy French cookbook. Just evenly disperse them in the dish. Sprinkle with a little bit of granulated onion then spread half the béchamel over the layer of potatoes using an offset spatula. Layer in the remaining potatoes, sprinkle with a little granulated onion and add the remaining sauce, spreading it evenly over the potatoes.

Place uncovered in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Now it’s bacon time. While the potatoes are in the oven, cook your bacon bits till crispy. Place on a paper towel lined plate for later. Discard most of the bacon grease, but save some in the pan because that’s flavor country, baby! Add the mushrooms (or vegetable of your choice) to the pan and toss with the bacon grease. Cook until mushrooms are browned (or until veggies are tender). Set aside.

After 45 minutes, remove the potatoes from the oven. Sprinkle on the mushrooms, then the bacon, and top with the cheeses. Place back in the oven and bake another 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chives. Serve immediately. I also love this dish the next day when it’s cold!

Cooking, Italian

Lasagna Beans!

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Once again it was 5 p.m. and I was faced with the dilemma of what to make for dinner in a hurry that isn’t pasta. Yesterday on Facebook I was recommended this New York Times recipe, but due to a paywall I wasn’t able to view it so I decided to see what I could come up with.

Using items commonly found in my pantry, I whipped together a one-pan dish that has all the notes I crave from lasagna but without the labor and carbs. This is a flexible recipe. If you wanna add some crumbled Italian sausage, go for it. If you want some spice, add dried chili flakes. But no matter what, this dish is sure to be a family favorite.

Lasagna Beans – a super quick recipe to satisfy that pasta craving

Prep/cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 cup marinara sauce
  • 2 packed cups of fresh baby spinach
  • 2 cans white beans, drained
  • 1/4 cup pre-made pesto sauce
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • Fresh basil, for serving
  • Crusty bread, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F. While the oven is heating, place a medium cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Toss in the garlic, turn heat to medium-low, and cook until garlic is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the marinara and baby spinach, turn to medium-high, cover, and cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beans, pesto, and salt and pepper. Cook until it starts to bubble. Evenly sprinkle on the cheeses.

Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until bubbling. Turn on the broiler and let broil until the cheese starts to brown, just 1-2 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with torn pieces of fresh basil. Serve with slices of toasted crusty bread.

appetizers, asian, Cooking, recipes

Marinated Ramen Eggs

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I am high-key obsessed with the jammy eggs that come in ramen. So much so, that I started making them on the regular and not even putting them in ramen. I’m just snacking on them. The simple marinade penetrates the white of the egg and infuses the whole egg with umami flavor.

Thanks to Uncle Roger for the tip on how to keep the floating egg parts submerged! You know when your eggs are properly marinated when they are brown all over and when you cut them open you can see the marinade has gotten inside the eggs.

Marinated Jammy Eggs for ramen or for snacking

Makes 4 eggs

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sake
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 teaspoon Knorr chicken bouillon (optional, but this is the MSG part of the recipe)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons miso paste

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Gently lower in the eggs so they don’t crack and turn down the heat slightly so it’s not an aggressive boil. Boil for 6 minutes 45 seconds. This is my magic number to achieve not too runny and not too cooked eggs. If you like yours cooked more, boil them longer.

Drain and place eggs in an ice bath till cool. In the meantime, combine all the marinade ingredients in a mason jar and whisk well so the miso paste breaks up.

Peel the eggs and gently place them in the jar. Take a paper towel and place it on top of the eggs so it becomes saturated with the marinade. This will ensure that any parts of the egg that are floating will get marinated.

Place in the fridge overnight. Enjoy your eggs the next day or the day after. I don’t usually let them sit longer than two days (but they also don’t last that long).

Cooking, Italian, Pasta

Colcannon Ravioli

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It’s St. Patrick’s Day and although I don’t really have much of a connection to this day, I thought it would be fun to serve something festive for dinner.

I’ve made colcannon in the past, which is a traditional Irish potato dish with cabbage, and as I was leafing through an Alice Waters cookbook I saw a recipe for potato and spinach ravioli and I thought it would be the perfect dish for St. Patrick’s Day. I didn’t follow her recipe, but made up my own and after boiling the ravioli I sautéd them like pierogis.

Spinach and Potato ravioli in a garlicky cream sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the pasta dough:

  • 225 grams 00 flour
  • 75 grams fine semolina flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the filling:

  • 1 pound potatoes, any variety (I used a combination of russet, new potatoes and fingerling)
  • 8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 cup cream, divided
  • salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • zest of 1 lemon

Special supplies:

  • Small food processor or immersion blender
  • Potato ricer (you could use a potato masher but it won’t be as smooth)
  • KitchenAid pasta roller adapter (or a hand cranked version would work too)
  • Ravioli cutter (or a pizza cutter would work)
  • Shot glass
  • Large spider strainer (a slotted spoon would work)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or on a clean, dry countertop, combine the flours. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and olive oil. Whisk the eggs and oil till scrambled, slowly incorporating the flour. Mix into a rough ball and knead for 10 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly the same sized pieces. Boil in salted water until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Place the squeezed spinach and 2 tablespoons of cream in a food processor and run it till the spinach is puréed. You may need to add a little more cream to get it going. When the potatoes are done, drain them and press through a potato ricer into a medium mixing bowl. Add the spinach, Parmesan, butter, remaining cream and salt and pepper. This should be a relatively homogenous consistency. Add more cream if necessary to make it smooth. Place mixture in a gallon zip top bag and refrigerate until cool.

3. Time to assemble the ravioli. Tear a small handful of dough away from your pasta ball and flatten it with your hand. Set the pasta roller on the largest setting and run the dough through. It’s ok if it tears apart a little. Roughly fold the dough into thirds and run it through again on the same setting. Repeat this three or four times until your dough is smooth.

4. Adjust the roller to the next thinnest setting and run the dough through once. Repeat this step making the roller thinner each time until you’ve run it through the thinnest setting.

5. Place the sheet of dough on a clean counter top. With a ravioli or pizza cutter, cut the sheet in half, across the width, not the length.

6. Cut a hole in the corner of the bag containing the filling and place about 1 teaspoon of filling on one half of the pasta sheet. Repeat so you have them evenly spaced on the dough, about 6-8 on the sheet. Place the other half of the dough on top and gently press the air out between the sheets without smashing down the filling. Use a shot glass to center the filling and lightly press down (don’t cut through the dough with the shot glass). This makes the ravioli look more uniform.

7. Use your ravioli cutter to cut out 6-8 ravioli. Pick up each ravioli and make sure the edges are sealed. Pinch any areas that look separated. Place on a semolina lined tray. Cover with foil.

8. Repeat steps 3-7 with the remaining dough and filling.

9. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Just before the water is boiling, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook till fragrant, turning down the heat to prevent the garlic from burning, about 1 minute. Add the cream, stir, and turn off the heat while you cook the ravioli.

10. Add the ravioli to the boiling water, gently stirring with a spider strainer. Boil the ravioli for 3-5 minutes, until al dente. Remove one ravioli and cut off a corner to see if the dough is cooked to your liking.

11. Heat the sauté pan again over medium-low heat. Remove the ravioli from the water using the spider strainer, give it a good shake to remove excess water, and place into the sauté pan. Gently toss the ravioli till they are all coated with the sauce. Add salt, pepper and lemon zest to taste. You could either serve right away or continue cooking the ravioli until they ever so lightly brown, like pierogis.

12. Serve the ravioli with a drizzle of cream and a grind of pepper.

Cooking, Italian, Pasta

Quick Weeknight Pasta with Broccoli and Buttered Bread Crumbs

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Sometimes I want pasta and I don’t have a lot of energy to cook. Last night I threw together a simple pasta dish with broccoli bits and buttered fresh bread crumbs. It came together in about 15 minutes and was everything I wanted. I happened to have a bag of brown rice macaroni, which ended up being really delicious. You could use any kind of small pasta shape.

Quick Weeknight Pasta with Broccoli and Buttered Bread Crumbs

Serves 2-3
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 slices good quality white sandwich bread (to make about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs)
  • 5 ounces small pasta (about 1 1/4 cup)
  • 3 ounces fresh broccoli, chopped into small bits (about 1 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon sun dried tomato oil
  • 1 teaspoon good quality olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions:

Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, tear up your bread into chunks and place in a food processor. Process until they are crumbs, but not too fine. Set aside.

When water is boiling, add your pasta and stir occasionally. Set a timer and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add bread crumbs, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Turn down heat a little and stir frequently until crumbs are golden brown. Set this mixture aside.

When there are 4 minutes left on your timer, add the broccoli bits to the pasta. When pasta is cooked to your preference, drain.

Wipe out the sauté pan with a paper towel and add the sun dried tomato and olive oils. Heat over medium and add the garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for about a minute, stirring, until garlic is fragrant. Add the drained pasta and broccoli and the parsley. Stir until everything is combined. Adjust for salt.

Plate the pasta and sprinkle each serving with grated parmesan cheese and the toasted breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.

appetizers, asian

Air Fried Salmon Sushi Cups

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This fun appetizer has been popular among social media channels, and it’s no wonder. A Japanese-style barbecue glaze is drizzled over air fried salmon and rice cups and topped with spicy mayo – it’s creative and a real crowd pleaser!

Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4 (two cups per person)

Marinade/glaze:

  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup sake
  • 1/4 cup agave
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce

Spicy mayo:

  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar

For the salmon cups:

  • 1 cup short grain sushi rice
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound wild Alaska salmon, skin removed, cut into small pieces
  • 2 nori sheets, cut into quarters
  • 2 teaspoons tempura flakes
  • 2 scallions, green parts only, chopped
  • Furikake, to serve

Tools:

  • Air fryer
  • 8 silicone muffin cups
  • Rice cooker

Directions:

Mix together the marinade/glaze ingredients. Reserve half of this mixture in a small saucepan. The other half pour into a sealable container along with the salmon. Place salmon in fridge and marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Combine the spicy mayo ingredients in a small bowl, cover, and place in fridge till ready to serve.

While salmon is marinating, cook the sushi rice according to package directions. When rice is cooked, mix in the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining glaze over medium-high and simmer for 10 minutes until it’s the consistency of thin syrup. Set aside until ready to serve.

Drain the marinade from the salmon and preheat air fryer to 400F while you assemble the salmon cups. Place a piece of nori in your palm and add 1 tablespoon of rice to the center. Place the nori into a silicone muffin cup. Add one more tablespoon of rice and press down with the back of a wet spoon so there’s a small indent in the rice. Place 2 tablespoons of salmon pieces into the rice. Sprinkle some tempura flakes on top. Repeat with three more muffin cups and place all four into the air fryer. Cook for 5 minutes or until salmon begins to brown on top. Remove from air fryer and repeat with remaining 4 muffin cups.

Remove from muffin cups and place on a serving tray. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of glaze, and top with a small dollop of spicy mayo, a sprinkle of chopped scallions, and a shake of furikake.

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Knitted Bandana – a Free Pattern

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Recently a friend sent me an Instagram reel of a bandana cowl and it was the answer to all my cold neck problems. My hair has gotten so long that it’s becoming a hassle to wear it down with a hat and also manage to tie a scarf around my neck. So much hair everywhere! I decided it was something I could figure out – and I knit it up in about three hours. Then I made six more for holiday gifts. Here’s my sister modeling hers:

I’m calling this a “knitted bandana” to be trendy, but really I’m naming this pattern a dickie scarf. Remember dickies? If you’re over 40 I’m sure you’ve at least heard of them or definitely owned one in the past. It’s all the style of wearing a turtleneck sweater without the bulkiness of having to cram it under another layer of clothing. A dickey scarf is similar – you have the warmth of a cozy turtleneck without having to deal with the bulk of a scarf.

This pattern is so simple and a great stashbuster project.

Knitted Bandana – or as I’m calling it: knitted dickie scarf

Sizes: Adult M (L)

If you’re wanting to knit this pattern with a different needle size and different weight yarn, I am unable to adjust the pattern for you. This pattern is written for a specific needle size and yarn weight.

Ingredients:

Abbreviations:

  • CO = cast on
  • PM = place marker
  • K2, P2 = knit 2, purl 2
  • WS = wrong side
  • RS = right side
  • K2tog = knit 2 stitches together

Directions:

CO 60 (64) stitches; PM. Join the work being careful the stitches aren’t twisted and work in K2, P2 for 30 rounds. When you’ve reached the marker on the final round, turn your work and knit the other direction till you reach the marker again (WS). You’ll now be working back and forth in rows of garter stitch, decreasing by two stitches on each right side row.

Next row (RS): K2tog, knit to the last 2 stitches in row, K2tog.

Next row (WS): K

Repeat these two rows until you have 4 stitches remaining. Bind off and weave in ends. Ta-da – DICKIE SCARF.

breakfast, Cooking, recipes

Broccoli and Cheese Bread Pudding

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This Thanksgiving we were left with way too many dinner rolls. I wanted to make something savory with them so I put together a bread pudding that was perfect for dinner and even tastier the next morning for breakfast!

Broccoli and Cheese Bread Pudding
A great use of leftover dinner rolls

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 5-7 leftover dinner rolls, cut into cubes
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 onion, chopped finely
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 small head of broccoli, stems and crown chopped into small bits
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 2 eggs
  • salt and lots of pepper
  • pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a small casserole dish liberally with butter and place bread cubes in it. There should be enough bread cubes to cover the bottom of the dish. Set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Turn down heat, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, boil a small pot of salted water and add the broccoli; cook for 3 minutes and drain well. Add the broccoli to the onion mixture and combine well. Spread this mixture evenly on the bread cubes.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Evenly pour this mixture over the broccoli and bread cubes.

Sprinkle on the cheeses, then lightly press down on the mixture to help the bread absorb some of the liquid.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Save leftovers overnight and eat for breakfast the next day for an even tastier dish!